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February 6-7 Minestrone Soup

Feb 6 Leftover chicken chili and quesadillas again for hank but this time I made guacamole and
thickened up the soup so it was more like a scoopable chiliFeb 7Minestrone Soup from Epicurious

I spent Friday night (after I made pizza for the boys) and all day/night Saturday sick in bed. I thought I was better Sunday and so we went out for dim sum I and kind of over did it. Because of that, by Sunday night instead of cooking dinner like I had planned, I was laying down in bed again after heating up leftovers for the kid.

This week it was my turn to post on Sunday so that meant I would have to post Sunday, which I did, and then again Monday. Thich means I kind of am on the spot to make sure I cook something worth sharing on Sunday. That didn't happen this weekend so Dianne sweetly offered to switch with me and she took over my blog duties yesterday. Confused?

I was feeling much better yesterday so I could totally handle something a bit labour intensive BUT I also had to attend the Almost Famous Chef competition with Jen. This meant I had to make something that could just sort of be ready for the boys when they get home after 6pm. I know that if I don't leave them dinner, they would either order pizza or Shack would make pasta with tomato sauce, which are both fine but this entire endeavour is all about making better food habits and choices yadda yadda yadda.

It's cold, it's snowing and that says a hearty soup like minestrone is in order. I also wanted a soup that would fill them up enough that it would feel like a satisfying meal in itself and prevent them from ordering pizza after they finished their soup. I also baked a small loaf of my whole wheat cranberry/walnut bread ( I still have enough dough in there for one more small loaf).

I followed the recipe almost to a T, which is one of my goals but something I almost never do. To get out of my comfort zone, I have to stop just making up all of my own recipes. I want to discover new techniques, ingredients and seasonings and then, after this year is over, I can go back to just making everything up but I will have so many new things in my bag of kitchen tricks.

So, the only change I made was to switch out the escarole for kale. Shack has me terrified of using bitter greens and causing him to not want to eat stuff and we all really like kale. I even bought the ditalini pasta the recipe calls for. I am nothing if not dedicated to my task.

Also, the whole 45 minutes of browning the vegetables and the caramelizing of the tomato paste might seem like a waste of time, but it's not. It really results in a much richer, fuller tasting soup and worth the effort.

Cook pancetta, onions, celery, and carrots in oil in a wide 7-to 9-quart heavy pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, while preparing chard. I actually used a wide braising pan for this part and then transferred all the veggies to a soup pot just before I added the water because I wanted them to really brown and not steam in my deep but narrow pot.

Push vegetables to the side of the pan. Add tomato paste to cleared area and cook, stirring constantly, until it starts to caramelize, about 2 minutes. Stir paste into vegetables and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. (Paste may stick to pot, but don’t let it burn.)

Stir in tomatoes with their juice, crushing them between your fingers as you add them. Scrape all the goodness out of the pan and pour it all into a nice, deep soup pot, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pot, then add hot water (3 quarts) to the soup pot that now contains your veggies and tomatoes.

Bring to a simmer. Stir in cabbage, kale and parmesan rind. Simmer, covered, until greens are tender, about 40 minutes.

Coarsely chop chard leaves and stir into soup along with beans. Simmer, partially covered, 10 minutes. Discard rind. Season soup with salt and pepper. If using ditalini, stir in just before serving or, if you don't plan to consume the entire pot at once, cook the pasta separately and add to each bowl before pouring the hot soup over top. I HATE pasta that sits in soup overnight and gets all swollen and absorbs up all the broth.

I just had a bowl for lunch myself! Unfortunately, although Shack and I love this soup, the kid doesn't and I didn't cut the recipe in half so now I have a giant pot of soup left so I know what I am eating for lunch for the rest of the week.

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